CIRCA EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.

Details

A WESTERN ASIATIC BRONZE IBEX WHETSTONE HANDLE
CIRCA EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm) high

Provenance

Arts d'Orient, Boisgirard, Drouot Richelieu, Paris, 5 April 2000, lot 22.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Given the connection of whestones with weapons used in battle and during hunting, one might assume that the zoomorphic handle had an apotropaic value that was transferred onto the honed weapon. The slight ridges on the curved-back horns indicate that the animals are ibexes. They are naturalistically rendered with no body markings. This piece is stylistically similar to a Mesopotamian vessel stand with ibex support now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 1974.190.

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